Dank link to clinic in Sydney

THE sports scientist at the centre of an investigation into the use of supplements by Essendon players in the AFL is an owner of a ''rejuvenation clinic'' in Bondi Junction that sells peptide online.

Stephen Joseph Dank, who has also worked with NRL clubs including Manly and the Cronulla Sharks, is one of four owners of the Medical Rejuvenation Clinic in the Royal Arcade on Oxford Street.

On its website the company pitches itself as an anti-ageing clinic offering ''Complete Age Rejuvenation Inside and Out'' but its Facebook page contains photos of men and women with body-builder-style physiques.

Through the website, the public can buy a range of peptides priced from $50 to $400. Among the peptides available are those identified on Thursday by the Australian Crime Commission and the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority as being ''misused in both professional sports and the broader population''.

''Medical Rejuvenation clinic was founded in 2009 by four happening businessmen,'' the website states.

''With a focus on making available the highest quality products produced by Australian Compound Pharmacist at the BEST prices with the BEST delivery program and the BEST personal service to online customers.''

Fairfax Media contacted the centre on Thursday but was told that no one involved in the business would comment until after ''Steve makes his statement tomorrow''.

Mr Dank's barrister, Gregory Stanton, said his client had no comment to make at this stage.

The other directors of the centre include 29-year-old Zaheer Azmi and bodybuilder Adam George Van Spanje, 31.

Mr Dank's link to the rejuvenation centre was revealed on the same day the ACC found that a number of doctors with links to sporting clubs and anti-ageing clinics were guilty of ''lax and fraudulent'' prescribing practices and experimenting on players.

The commission said it had uncovered practices including doctors writing scripts in false names, providing prescriptions without consulting the patient and prescribing hormones without conducting the blood tests normally carried out before prescribing such substances.

Its report said it had found doctors who provided prescriptions for substances such as testosterone and human growth hormone when there was no medical reason to prescribe the substance, and when they had no contact with the patient or access to their records.

The commission identified doctors who had dispensed human growth hormone directly to patients without a prescription, which is illegal. It said other doctors dispensed the hormone through a pharmacy they owned, and did not record the transaction.

It also found some doctors experimented on players by providing them with different substances to determine their effects on performance.

A spokeswoman for the Medical Board of Australia, which regulates doctors, said it was reviewing the report and would be following up with the commission to seek information about any doctors who may be putting the public at risk. She said the board had the power to suspend a practitioner's registration if it had evidence of a serious risk to public safety.

This story was found at: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/dank-link-to-clinic-in-sydney-20130207-2e1gt.html